


Before He Met Me, He Didn't Have Any Tattoos.

by mandiomandi3



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Falling In Love, Lashton - Freeform, M/M, Student Ashton, Tattoos, ashton falls in love alot, barista!luke, idk what to tag im, its slow building on lukes part
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-24
Updated: 2015-09-24
Packaged: 2018-04-23 04:01:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4862306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mandiomandi3/pseuds/mandiomandi3
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ashton was used to the stares, used to the hushed gasps and the whispers he got as he would walk down the street wearing a short sleeved shirt or a tank top. It wasn’t his fault he was covered in the little intricate tattoos, arms covered in the natural black ink; he just happened to fall in love a lot. Was that such a bad thing? To some people it was, “it’s not real” he was told. But Ashton knew differently, he had a story behind every little mark on his body, and a face to go with it. </p>
<p>Or</p>
<p>the one where everyone is born with a unique tattoo on their ankle, and when you fall in love with someone their tattoo appears somewhere on your body</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is based off of a tumblr post I saw And if I could figure out how to link it i would but for now i'm just gonna (http://spookymileskane.tumblr.com/post/128408236606/au-where-everyone-is-born-with-a-very-unique)

Ashton was used to the stares, used to the hushed gasps and the whispers he got as he would walk down the street wearing a short sleeved shirt or a tank top. It wasn’t his fault he was covered in the little intricate tattoos, arms covered in the natural black ink; he just happened to fall in love a lot. Was that such a bad thing? To some people it was, “it’s not real” he was told. But Ashton knew differently, he had a story behind every little mark on his body, and a face to go with it. 

When he entered the cafe he was making his way to, he was greeted with a loud commotion coming from the back, some yelling accompanied by a few banging noises. Then suddenly a dark haired boy bursted out from the back door and pushed his way outside, yelling something about how he wouldn’t be coming back. 

Ashton furrowed his eyebrows slightly as he watched the stranger but he simply turned back and made his way inside, ordering himself a little sandwich and a coffee for himself before he went and sat at his regular table. He normally came here to do school work, the free wifi being a great help as he didn’t have the luxury at home. Being just twenty-one and living on your own was a lot harder than it had seemed. 

So, Ashton came here most days, his laptop in hand with his books for school. He’d sit at the little booth in the corner that was tucked against the window and the wall. Most times he was alone, but there was the rare occasion he’d have someone with him. But as of late, he was just by himself. 

There was one thing that kept Ashton coming back here (besides the free wifi). There was a barista, named Luke. He was tall blond and quiet, with the bluest eyes Ashton has ever seen. He didn’t know much about Luke, only that he didn’t like to talk much, save for the normal small talk after taking Ashton’s order every morning. There was no hiding the crush that Ashton had formed on the taller boy, the fond gazes and stupid jokes spoke right up for that in an attempt to get Luke to smile. 

Today was the first day Ashton had noticed Luke wasn’t there to take his order. It almost concerned the curly haired boy, but he pushed it aside and started eating as he opened his computer and started doing his homework. 

A loud ringing of the bell attached to the front door broke Ashton's concentration from his work and he looked up at the door, not even trying to hide the smile on his face as he saw Luke walking in. 

“Calum just quit?” Luke grumbled out to the man behind the counter as he walked into the back, making it impossible for Ashton to hear what else was being said between the two employees. 

Calum must have been the guy he’d seem storming out of here when he first arrived. Ashton shrugged to himself and looked back down at his computer, going back to researching some old stories about the civil war. 

To be honest Ashton hated his history class, it was all things he had learned all through the rest of his schooling, nothing really new was tought. But he had to pass regardless, so here he was studying away as he drank his coffee. 

He looked up briefly, smiling a bit when he saw Luke walking over to him with a coffee pot. “Morning Luke..” 

“good morning, how are you doing today?” He asked softly as he poured Ashtons his coffee. 

“As good as I can be while doing history, you?” 

Luke shrugged, looking around the cafe and biting his lip, “good..” He mumbled and gave Ashton a nod before he was walking back to the counter and placing the pot back down. 

Every conversation they had was like this, Ashton would try his hardest to get something, anything out of Luke. But most times it would end the same way, he got one worded answers; there was never much thought behind the words Luke would mumble to him, and it frustrated Ashton to no end. 

Maybe later in the week he would get a bit luckier. 

 

* * * 

 

To say Ashton had gotten a bit farther would be an understatement. 

Somehow within the past two weeks he had drawn Luke a bit out of his shell, he even got him to sit with him and have lunch one day. Granted they barely talked, but still it was something, right? The little encounters since then had been a bit happier, Luke was smiling a bit more when he saw Ashton walking in the door, and each day Ashton would invite Luke to eat with him. 

One day when they were both sitting across from each other at Ashton’s normal booth Luke spoke out, something he normally would never do, and the subject shocked Ashton a bit. 

“you have a lot of tattoos..” 

Ashton was silent for a moment, trying to think of what exactly he should say to that. He could tell Luke didn’t mean it in a demeaning way, no. It was more of a question, wondering how someone as young as he is could get so many marks along his skin. “yeah, um.. I do..” 

“Are they all over your arms then? Like shoulders and everything?” Luke asked while taking a bite of the salad he had ordered which Ashton may have teased him playfully about. 

“mhmm, uh, they stretch from my elbow and go up my shoulders and a bit across my back too.. I don’t know why they only show up their but, they do. Other than the one on my ankle of course.” 

Luke simply nodded at him, looking back down at his food and taking in a deep breath s if he was thinking it all over, rolling the thought of how many people that Ashton must have loved to get all those markings.. 

Ashton watched him, biting at his lip as he took the time to look Luke over a bit closer. His arms were completely visible as he was wearing a loose fitting tank top that cut off at his shoulders. Unless he had some on his legs or chest area, no tattoos were visible to Ashton and he wondered if Luke had any at all. 

He didn’t ask though, he kept silent for the rest of their little lunch. And when Luke had to return to work he smiled at him, waving goodbye and promising to come back tomorrow, though both boys knew he had no choice, he was working on a big project and he practically lived at this little cafe. 

But today he had to leave a bit early since he was going to visit his family for the night and return in the morning. He knew that when he returned though he wanted to get Luke to talk more, maybe he’d ask if he had any tattoos. Or maybe he’d finally ask Luke out on a date like he’d been wanting to for months now.. One step at a time, he was getting closer and closer.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> oh man I hope this is as good as I wanted it to be

The couple weeks after that played out the same way, Ashton coming into the cafe and Luke silently joining him for his lunch. The only thing that was different was Ashton would find Luke staring at him more, his eyes constantly wandering down Ashton’s arms. And on the rare occasion, they would make eye contact; simply staring at each other until one or both blushed and looked away. 

Ashton did most of the talking, he would tell Luke about his school or his family. Sometimes he’d talk about himself, go on about how he was trying his hardest to become a writer. And one time Luke asked him to read some of his work and Ashton let him. 

Their conversations were small, never outside of the comfort of the cafe booths, but Ashton loved it anyways, he loved being able to talk on and on, and he loved even more that Luke would listen. 

The dangerous part of all this was how much Ashton had began to look forward to seeing the blond haired boy. Everytime he went home he couldn't wait to go to bed only to wake up the next day, go to class then return to the cafe and stay there til close. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was forming feelings for Luke. 

It was a problem really, how easily Ashton fell for people. It wasn’t always in a romantic way, he fell in love with different parts of people everyday. For example his best friend Michael, Ashton knew he had a small tattoo on the center of his back for him. It was a small line, little lines flowing off it that matched the one Michael had on his ankle, it resembled a tree actually. And the more Ashton thought about it the more he realized it represented Michael perfectly, for the boy was always branching out to try new things; he was never scared of trying to be different. 

Ashton loved that about Michael, loved how brave and adventurous the boy was. It freaked them both out a bit when they were simply fifteen years old and Ashton came running to Michael’s house, yelling about a tattoo that had appeared on his back. And when Michael saw it was identical to his, he was scared because, you only get matching tattoos if you love a person.. 

But Michael had grown up with Ashton, seen how caring and loving he was, to anyone really. That’s when Ashton started realizing it, that he had gotten a tattoo for Michael because of how much he did love him. He loved Michael like a brother and now he was a part of him. 

The only thing that scared Ashton more than when he had gotten the first tattoo for someone else, was when he was seeing a guy named Brad. They weren’t dating but they had fooled around a couple times in secret. Ashton was in love with him, this time very romantic. The large triangle appeared on his bicep about a month into their friendship, needless to say he tried covering it up at first, it was too early for him to say anything about it wasn’t it? 

When a few more months had passed Ashton thought it was finally time to tell Brad about the tattoo. They were out with friends, celebrating a big win for their school’s football team. Brad was driving Ashton home after they had all gotten something to eat and Ashton looked over at him, a fond smile on his face as he grabbed Brad’s hand. “Brad, I-I got a new tattoo.. It matches yours look..!” 

But what Ashton wasn’t prepared for was the look of disgust that spread across his face, him ripping his hand out of Ashton’s and stopping the car. Brad stepped out of the car once he had pulled over and he opened Ashton’s door, pulling him out of the car as well. 

“Have you showed anyone this?” 

“No, I’ve kept it covered why is it--”

“Don’t. Don’t ever show anyone got it? I don’t love you and I never will, so just stay away from me. You were just someone to mess around with. It didn’t mean a thing, got it?” 

It was needless to say that Ashton was heartbroken, being only sixteen at the time he didn’t know how to handle it. So he ran the rest of the way home, ignoring calls from everyone for a week. The only person he would talk to was Michael, who he later learned beat the shit out of Brad for making Ashton cry. 

Some would think Ashton would be a bit more careful after that, maybe watching who he was with a bit more, making sure they actually cared for him. But he continued on with his ways, through the rest of school he had many relationships. All of them sadly ending in heartbreak when Ashton would gain a tattoo too early on and whoever he was with would get freaked out, saying it wasn’t love, it was just an obsession. 

It hurt Ashton a lot, and he didn’t have an actual real love until he was in college. It was his first year, his name was Ryan. And Ashton loved him more than anything, and he thought that Ryan felt the same way, at least that’s what he had been told. 

They dated for a year, a wonderful love filled year. Ashton thought Ryan was the one, the one he was going to bring home from school and show off to his family, one he was going to get a house with in Sydney and build a family of their own. 

Ashton had Ryan’s tattoo stretched along his shoulder blades, the long interweaving lines forming a beautiful picture. The only problem was through this whole time they’ve been together, Ryan hasn’t gotten a new tattoo. He only has the one on his wrist from a previous relationship and the one on his ankle.. Ashton’s wasn’t anywhere on his body and that was slightly unnerving. 

It was a constant topic of conversation, Ashton asking him if he really loved him only to have Ryan cup his face gently and press little kisses along his cheek and lips. “of course I do baby.. It must just be a glitch in the system.” 

It went on like that for a couple more months, Ashton staring at Ryan’s sleeping body as they laid next to each other in bed after a long day. The thought of him not actually feeling the same kept him up at night. All his suspicions were confirmed when he woke up one morning alone, the other side of the bed empty. 

All of Ryan’s things he kept in Ashton’s dorm for when he spent the night were gone, and so was he. The only thing Ashton got as an explanation was a rushed little note on the fridge that said, “i’m sorry.” 

Ashton didn’t date after that, though that didn’t stop his heart from falling in love with people. And Ashton began to hate this stupid tattoo thing, hated how it was so obvious that he had fallen in love so many times. He hated the stares he’d get and for a while he wore long sleeves all the time. 

But that was almost a year ago, and now he’s here, a new school in a new town. Now he has this tiny cafe a block down from his studio apartment and he has Luke, a sweet quiet boy who he wants to get to know more and more each day. 

When Ashton walked into the cafe the next morning he was greeted with a grinning Luke already handing him a cup of coffee and a plate with a little brownie on it. 

“I just made them, perfect timing..” Luke said with a soft laugh and he bit his lip as a blush spread across his face. 

“It looks amazing Luke thank you, hey.. Would you want to go out sometime? Get dinner or something?” Ashton asked, a hopeful smile on his face as he watched Luke’s eyes widen slightly at the forward and almost random question. 

“Y-Yeah, um.. I’d like that.” 

Ashton simply grinned in response and nodded before making his way back to his table and sitting down, his eyes lightly up when Luke came over and sat across from him. 

“I like Italian food..”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me know what you think?

**Author's Note:**

> find me on tumblr lashton17 
> 
> Also any criticism is welcomed!


End file.
